Israel and Nicaragua

The State Department said yesterday that Israel’s “last shipment” of military materiel to the Somoza government “under a set of contracts for light military equipment was made in August.” The Department’s chief spokesman, Hodding Carter, was asked for the second time in a week about Israeli military assistance to Nicaragua’s government. Previously he reported that Israel had denied making shipments “clandestinely” to Nicaragua.

Regarding the contractual shipments, Carter said that “we have been told” by the Israel government that no shipments have been made since August and that the materiel supplied under the contracts consisted of light weapons and uniforms. Asked whether the cessation of Israeli military shipments to Nicaragua include both private and government sales, Carter replied, “I think the answer is yes.”